10 Commandments for Good Design: Dieter Rams

 

 

 

 

Although there’s plenty of room for subjective interpretation on some of these points, Dieter Rams‘ points are nonetheless excellent reminders that as designers, our work is about transforming the product into the best that it can be, without the design getting in the way or drawing undue attention to itself. It’s been said many times before, and it’s still true: often the best design is invisible.  LINK

New Cover—Classic Toys Hall of Fame Book

I recently finished work on a complete design for a book produced in conjunction with Running Press and the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester. You may remember the Toy Hall of Fame from recent news, where they inducted a “stick” into their permanent museum exhibit. Curators ”praised its all-purpose, no-cost, recreational qualities, noting its ability to serve either as raw material or an appendage transformed in myriad ways by a child’s creativity.” Amen.  This was a really fun job to work on, and the Running Press folks helped turn it into a seriously nice end result.

 

The SAAB Logo—A Quick History

It’s not my intention to make this blog all about car logos, but they’re almost always a joy to look at (and I’m a sucker for anything cast in chrome). There are some interesting progressions here.  As expected, they each follow the graphic trends of their day, and some are certainly more successful than others.  SAAB began as an airplane manufacturer, reason enough to buy one if you ask me. I mean, how can you not like that stylized wing profile?  LINK.

 

The Wonderful World of Letterpress

If I were filthy rich and had no need for working, I’d still get out of bed in the mornings and go down to my basement (if I had one) and crank up my old Heidelberg letterpress (if I owned one) and commence to designing and printing hour upon hour upon hour. And I suspect that this would, for the most part, keep me happy until my dying day. Running a printing press is akin to working the soil–it’s dirty work, and laborious; your hands become fantastically covered in grime; there are moments of very real pain and frustration–but in the end when your job is complete, it is a feeling of immense satisfaction comparable to few others.  Letterpress printing is all the more wonderful because it is so real and so basic, and so mechanical. This little video is a wonderful tribute to this dying artform–enjoy…